Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Pi-ling visited the disputed Taiwan-controlled island of Taiping on Tuesday to take part in coast guard exercises, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement. TASR writes about it according to a report by the AFP agency and the British station BBC.
- Minister Kuan Pi-ling visited the disputed Taiping Island and watched the coast guard exercises.
- Taiping is the largest of the Spratly Islands, claimed by China and others.
- The visit took place during the largest joint military exercises of the United States and the Philippines.
- During the exercises, China sent an amphibious warship and an aircraft carrier to the region.
- The international tribunal called the Taiping a rock, Taiwan rejects the legal binding of the decision.
Taiping, also known as Itu Aba, is the largest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Minister at Taiping
Kuan Pi-ling is the first Taiwanese minister to visit the island in seven years, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. Her visit comes as US and Philippine forces are holding their largest-ever military exercises across the Philippines, drawing criticism from China.
China has sent its new amphibious warship to the South China Sea and one of its aircraft carriers to the nearby Taiwan Strait during ongoing US-Philippine exercises.
Coast Guard Exercises
During the minister’s visit, Taiwan’s coast guard conducted exercises that included practicing the intervention of armed special forces when boarding a suspicious cargo vessel that did not respond to calls. In the next part of the exercise, members of the coast guard performed a humanitarian rescue operation.
The island is about 0.50 square kilometers in area, has an airstrip, and most of its approximately 200 residents work for the Coast Guard.
Classification of the island disputed
However, a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague classified the island as a “rock” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, giving Taiwan rights to extract resources only within 12 nautical miles of it. If it were classified as an “island”, it would be a radius of 200 nautical miles.
The Taiwanese government rejected the court’s decision, saying it “seriously threatens” Taiwan’s rights. It said the ruling was not legally binding as the tribunal had not formally invited Taipei to participate in the proceedings or sought its opinion.
